National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark

The National Museum of Denmark (Nationalmuseet) is Denmark’s largest museum of cultural history, comprising the histories of Danish and foreign cultures, alike. The museum's main domicile is located a short distance from Strøget. It contains exhibits from around the world, from Greenland to South America.

The museum has a number of national commitments, particularly within the following key areas: archaeology, ethnology,numismatics, ethnography, natural science, conservation, communication, building antiquarian activities in connection with the churches of Denmark as well as the handling of the Danefæ (the National Treasures).

The museum covers 14,000 years of Danish history, from the reindeer-hunters of the Ice Age, Vikings and works of art created in praise of God in the Middle Ages, when the church played a huge role in Danish life. Danish coins from Viking times to the present and coins from ancientRome and Greece, as well as examples of the coinage and currencies of other cultures are exhibited also. Furthermore the National Museum keeps Denmark’s largest and most varied collection of objects from the ancient cultures of Greece and Italy, the Near East and Egypt. For example, it holds a collection of objects that were retrieved during the Danish excavation of Tell Shemshara in Iraq in 1957. In addition to this, there are exhibits about who the Danish people are and were, stories of everyday life and special occasions, stories of the Danish state and nation, but most of all stories of different people’s lives in Denmark from 1560 to 2000.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Robert Prol (2 months ago)
Wonderful museum with lots of ideas for us Danish Modern lovers. We really enjoyed our time in this museum. It's well laid out, and the exhibits are nicely organized. The food was good in the cafeteria.

Thomas Just Sørensen (3 months ago)
Wonderful museum, in particular worth a visit if you have kids. The children's museum is one of a kind. Be prepared to stay for hours, bring plenty of water, and dress the small ones in layers. They will exhaust themselves if you let them. The rest of the museum is worth a visit. In particular the areas on Denmark.

Johan Møller (3 months ago)
Amazing exhibition. The best I have seen from the national museum. Engaging, interesting and beautifully executed. Thanks to the danish designer Jim Lyngvild and the new management of the museum. There are tons of people here and everyone seems excited and blown away. I hope the rest of the danish museums will be inspired from this. This is the way you get more people into the museums. Educate, Excite and Engage ...

Socratis S. (3 months ago)
Its one of the most detailed Museum I've ever been. You get a well rounded idea of life from even before bronze age till now . Of course priorities Danish history as a whole but you can also find artifacts from other places of the world such as the Mediterranean .A must if you travel for knowledge of history

Andreas Offenhäuser (4 months ago)
Great place to get a very wide range of Denmark's history. From stone age to latest pop culture. Exhibitions are explained in Danish and English. Especially the 'secret' interactive events placed throughout the museum make it a special experience. 2-3 hours of you stroll through the entire place.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

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Historic Site of the week

Beersel Castle

The moated castle at Beersel is one of the few exceptionally well-preserved examples of medieval fortifications in Belgium. It remains pretty much as it must have appeared in the 15th century. Remarkably, it was never converted into a fortified mansion. A visitor is able to experience at first-hand how it must have felt to live in a heavily fortified castle in the Middle Ages.

The castle was built in around 1420 as a means of defence on the outer reaches of Brussels. The tall, dense walls and towers were intended to hold any besiegers at bay. The moat and the marshy ground along its eastern, southern and western edges made any attack a formidable proposition. For that reason, any attackers would have chosen its weaker northern defences where the castle adjoins higher lying ground. But the castle was only taken and destroyed on one occasion in 1489, by the inhabitants of Brussels who were in rebellion against Maximilian of Austria.

After being stormed and plundered by the rebels it was partially rebuilt. The pointed roofs and stepped gables are features which have survived this period. The reconstruction explains why two periods can be identified in the fabric of the edifice, particularly on the outside.

The red Brabant sandstone surrounds of the embrasures, now more or less all bricked up, are characteristic of the 15th century. The other embrasures, edged with white sandstone, date from the end of the 15th century. They were intended for setting up the artillery fire. The merlons too are in white sandstone. The year 1617 can be clearly seen in the foundation support on the first tower. This refers to restorations carried out at the time by the Arenberg family.

Nowadays, the castle is dominated by three massive towers. The means of defence follow the classic pattern: a wide, deep moat surrounding the castle, a drawbridge, merlons on the towers, embrasures in the walls and in the towers, at more or less regular intervals, and machiolations. Circular, projecting towers ensured that attacks from the side could be thwarted. If the enemy were to penetrate the outer wall, each tower could be defended from embrasures facing onto the inner courtyard.

The second and third towers are flanked by watchtowers from which shots could be fired directly below. Between the second and third tower are two openings in the walkway on the wall. It is not clear what these were used for. Were these holes used for the disposing of rubbish, or escape routes. The windows on the exterior are narrow and low. All light entering comes from the interior. The few larger windows on the exterior date from a later period. It is most probable that the third tower - the highest - was used as a watchtower.

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